The Correction To Some Misleading Answers of Albani On Various Current Topics

Q. Is there a limit to growing facial hair, since some people have very thick hair which sometimes goes from the chest to the neck and even all the way to the eyes?

pleasing to others, for all of Allaah's creation is handsome, as in the saheeh hadeeth, where the Prophet (S) saw a man with a long waist-shirt and ordered him to have his izaar halfway up his shins; the man gave the excuse that he had a defect in his ankles, so the Prophet (S) said, "All of Allaah's creation is handsome." (saheeh-

Ahmad and others. This phrase is actually of Qur'anic origin cf. Sajdah 32:7).

Really we must memorise this hadeeth well in order to answer the misconceptions in issues like this. One who says that "my wife has a lot of hair and I do not want to go near her" should remember this hadeeth, and in fact remember the saying of Allaah:

"So set your face truly to the faith, Allaah's

handiwork according to the pattern on which

he.has made mankind, (let there be) no change in

the.creation of Allaah." (Roum 30:30)

Also the hadeeth "Allaah has cursed the woman who tattoos and the

one who asks for it, the woman who plucks the eyebrows and the one who asks for it and the woman who makes gaps in her teeth, who change the creation of Allaah for the sake of beauty."(Bukhari, narrated by 'Abdullah bin Mas'ood)

These few quotes are enough as proof to show that it is not allowed to change the creation of Allaah in any way... ... (etc.)

Shaykh Hisham says:

The proof for the etiquette of trimming the beard is in the explicit and known practice of the Companions including, but not restricted to Ibn `Umar, and to invoke an analogy to the Prophet's order to lift up the izar is out of place, as that is a command that has a hukm of its own, namely that it is detestable to drag one's lower garment on the ground and it is desirable that the ankle-bones remain uncovered. The Prophet's original command to leave the beard is understood in the context of differing from non-Muslims, not leaving it absolutely, as is confirmed by the practice of Ibn `Umar who trimmed whatever grew in excess of a fistful.

Answering Al-Albani's Sifah salaah al Nabiyy (Sall Allahu 'alaihi wa sallim)

Moving the Finger in Tashahhud

With reference to al-Albani's recently translated book "The Prophet's Prayer described from the beginning to the end as though you see it (Sifah Salah-al-Nabee)", al-Albani claimed (pg. 66):

But when I looked this Hadith up in the English Translation of the Sunan of Imam Abu Dawood (1/984, pg. 252) I found that Abdallah ibn al-Zubair (Allah be pleased with him ) said :

But lo and behold, this very Hadith has not been listed In "Daeef Ahadith of Abu Dawud's Sunan", by his followers; which means to the user of this list that this Hadith is acceptable to them, and is either of the rank of SAHIH or HASAN to the user of this list! Imam Muslim (Rahimahullah) also reported Ibn al-Zubair (Allah be pleased with him) narrating from his father: "That when the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) sat for supplication, i.e. Tashahhud, he placed his right hand on his right thigh and his left hand on his left thigh, and pointed with his forefinger, and placed his thumb on his (middle) finger, and covered his knee with the palm of his left hand." (Sahih Muslim, 1/1202, English ed'n)

According to the Hanafi, Hanbali and Shafi'i Madhhabs, one should not continuously make supplications with the fore-finger. It is written in the English translation of Fiqh-us-Sunnah, by As-Sayyid Sabiq, (vol. 1, pg. 157): "Wa'il ibn Hajr (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) would place his left palm on his left thigh and knee. He would place the end of his right elbow upon his right thigh and would then close his right hand, forming a circle. In another narration it states, he would make a circle with his middle finger and thumb and point with his index finger, and (Wa'il) saw him moving it to make supplications (related by Ahmad)." Explaining the Hadith, al-Bayhaqi (Rahimahullah) says, "The implication of 'he would move it' is that he would point with it, not that he would continue to move it." This would be in agreement with the narration of Ibn az-Zubair (Allah be pleased with him), who reported, "The Prophet (Peace be upon him) would point with his finger while supplicating, and he would not move it." This is related by Abu Dawud with a Sahih chain. An-Nawawi also mentioned it

(NB - Both Imams al-Bayhaqi and Nawawi were great Shafi'i scholars of Hadith who followed this Hadith of Ibn al-Zubair, besides so many other scholars of Hadith).